Haryana gets Rs 17 crore to rehabilitate slum dwellers

The Union government has allocated Rs 16.86 crore to Haryana for making nine cities of the state slum-free under the Rajiv Awas Yojana. These cities are Gurgaon, Faridabad, Karnal, Panchkula, Rohtak, Panipat, Ambala, Yamunanagar and Hisar.

A state government spokesman said on Sunday that Rs 1.51 crore had already been released for conducting a survey for the purpose. As many as Rs 50.99 crore of the total allocation will be spent on the implementation of the scheme during 2013-14.

He said the state government led by chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has taken several initiatives to improve civic amenities in urban areas.

The Rajiv Gandhi Urban Development Mission (RGUDMH) has been launched for beefing up urban infrastructure. Under the mission, a revised budgetary allocation of Rs 542.7 crore was made for 2012-13, out of which Rs 366.26 crore has already been released to the municipalities for various development activities.

“Inspired by development in the urban areas during the current financial year, the state government has proposed an allocation of Rs 624.11 crore in the budget for 2013-14,” the spokesman said

The state, in its annual budget of 2013-14, has allocated Rs 1,867 crore for urban local bodies. The amount is Rs 712.8 crore (62%) higher than the allocation for the current financial year.

The state government has also issued a new excise policy under which additional Rs 51 crore will be provided to the urban local bodies.